The Cook County Stateâ€™s Attorneyâ€™s Office has dismissed felony convictions against two men who were charged and convicted of murder and sexual assault in separate cases following comprehensive re-investigations of the cases by the Stateâ€™s Attorneyâ€™s Conviction Integrity Unit, Stateâ€™s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced today.

Prosecutors from the Conviction Integrity Unit have dismissed the convictions of Latherial Boyd, 47, of Chicago, and Carl Chatman, 58, also of Chicago.Both men have been in prison since their convictions and are expected to be released later today.

The Boyd and Chatman cases bring to five the total number of convictions that have been dismissed since Alvarez created the Conviction Integrity Unit last year.

â€œWe remain committed to proactively re-investigating cases that involve wrongful or questionable convictions such as those that were delivered in the cases against Mr. Boyd and Mr. Chatman,â€ Alvarez said.â€œAbove all else, our work as prosecutors is about seeking justice, even if that measure of justice means that we must acknowledge failures of the past.â€

Boyd was charged in connection with a street shooting that occurred in the early morning hours of Feb. 24, 1990 near 3505 N. Clark Street in Chicago.A single gunman approached Michael Fleming and Ricky Warner, who were selling drugs on the street, and fired several times, killing Fleming instantly and wounding Warner, who was shot in the neck and paralyzed.Three other individuals who were standing or walking by were also shot, but not seriously injured.

Boyd was convicted of First Degree Murder and Attempted First Degree Murder on Oct. 24, 1990 and eventually sentenced to 82 years in prison, where he has remained since that time.

Page 2/Conviction Integrity

According to Alvarez, the Boyd conviction was dismissed based upon a number of factors, including:

nWhen he learned he was a suspect in the case, Boyd voluntarily went to the police station without an attorney and participated in a line-up.Nine eyewitnesses to the shooting viewed the line-up and not one of them identified Boyd as the shooter.However, this evidence was never introduced or raised in Boydâ€™s defense at trial.

nThe second shooting victim, who was the only witness who claimed to positively identify Boyd, provided inconsistent statements regarding his ability and to see and identify the shooter when questioned by police and in testimony at trial.

Carl Chatman was charged with Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault in connection with an alleged attack on a Cook County employee in the Richard J. Daley Center on the morning of May 24, 2002 in a courtroom office on the 21st floor.Chatman was convicted of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault on March 4, 2004 and subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison, where he has remained since that time.

According to Alvarez, the Chatman conviction was also dismissed based upon a number of factors, including:

nThe Conviction Integrity Review led to the discovery of a potential witness that had not previously been contacted by police or prosecutors.This person was a Cook County Deputy Sheriff who had arrived at work early and was sleeping in a nearby room a very short distance from where the alleged attack occurred.Although the complaining witness testified that she had cried out for help and fought loudly with Chapman during the attack, the Deputy Sheriff heard no noise whatsoever. The Deputy Sheriff was never interviewed in the criminal investigation and the information he provided was apparently unknown and never introduced at Chatmanâ€™s trial.

Throughout the course of their incarceration, both Boyd and Chatman had filed appeals and post conviction petitions that were ultimately denied by the courts.Neither had any litigation pending and they had essentially exhausted their legal appeal options when the cases were undertaken and reviewed by the Stateâ€™s Attorneyâ€™s Conviction Integrity Unit.

The following cases have been reviewed and dismissed by the Stateâ€™s Attorneyâ€™s Conviction Integrity Unit since it was created in February, 2012.

Recent Comments

Welcome to CopyLine Magazine! The first issue of CopyLine Magazine was published in November, 1990, by Editor & Publisher Juanita Bratcher. CopyLine’s main focus is on the political arena – to inform our readers and analyze many of the pressing issues of the day - controversial or otherwise. Our objectives are clear – to keep you abreast of political happenings and maneuvering in the political arena, by reporting and providing provocative commentaries on various issues. For more about CopyLine Magazine, CopyLine Blog, and CopyLine Television/Video, please visit juanitabratcher.com, copylinemagazine.com, and oneononetelevision.com. Bratcher has been a News/Reporter, Author, Publisher, and Journalist for 33 years. She is the author of six books, including “Harold: The Making of a Big City Mayor” (Harold Washington), Chicago’s first African-American mayor; and “Beyond the Boardroom: Empowering a New Generation of Leaders,” about John Herman Stroger, Jr., the first African-American elected President of the Cook County Board. Bratcher is also a Poet/Songwriter, with 17 records – produced by HillTop Records of Hollywood, California. Juanita Bratcher Publisher